Chattanooga

Chattanooga Council Takes Up 3935 Cromwell Road Rezoning Oct. 13: RN-1-6 to C-N, Planning and Staff Recommend Approval

Chattanooga City Council’s Oct. 13, 2026, agenda includes case 2026-0117: rezoning 3935 Cromwell Road from RN-1-6 Residential Zone to C-N Neighborhood Commercial Zone. The applicant is Rardin and Carroll Architects c/o David Decamp A.I.A. Planning Commission and Staff both recommend approval.

Tracy King

12 Oct 2026 • 5 min read

Chattanooga City Council’s Oct. 13 agenda includes a C-N rezoning request at 3935 Cromwell Road. Illustrative photo.

Chattanooga City Council’s Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, first-reading docket includes a neighborhood-commercial rezoning on Cromwell Road. Case 2026-0117 asks to change property at 3935 Cromwell Road from RN-1-6 Residential Zone to C-N Neighborhood Commercial Zone. The applicant is Rardin and Carroll Architects c/o David Decamp A.I.A. Both the Planning Commission and Staff recommend approval, according to the Council agenda and the Oct. 7 Planning, Zoning and Housing Committee agenda.

District 5 is the council district listed on the item. First reading is not final passage. The same case also appears on the proposed Oct. 20 Council agenda in the packet’s look-ahead pages, which is typical as ordinances move from first to later readings.

Case 2026-0117 at a glance

Item	Detail	Source
Case	2026-0117	Council / PZH agendas
Applicant	Rardin and Carroll Architects c/o David Decamp A.I.A.	Both agendas
Address	3935 Cromwell Road	Both agendas
From	RN-1-6 Residential Zone	Both agendas
To	C-N Neighborhood Commercial Zone	Both agendas
District	5	Both agendas
PC / Staff	Recommended for approval by Planning Commission and Staff	Both agendas
Council first reading	Oct. 13, 2026	Council agenda

What C-N means next to homes

RN-1-6 is a residential neighborhood zone. C-N Neighborhood Commercial is the label Chattanooga uses for smaller commercial uses meant to sit near neighborhoods. The agendas do not spell out the tenant or building program in the ordinance caption — only the zone change. Until site plans or permits are filed, neighbors should treat “C-N” as a use map change, not a finished floor plan.

Because Planning and Staff both recommend approval, the Oct. 13 first reading is the public’s early chance to speak while the ordinance is still in first passage. Final reading comes later on the Council calendar.

Same-day neighbors on the Oct. 13 zoning list

Cromwell Road is one of several zoning first readings Oct. 13. The same agenda also carries Old Lee Highway RN-3 (2026-0113), Reflection Riding Garden Road open-space / urban-agriculture (2026-0106), 2102 Vance Avenue commercial requests (2026-0099), Hixson Pike C-C to C-R versions (2026-0110), and Old Pineville Road RN-1-6 to RN-1-5 (2026-0105), among others.

Separate Kings coverage already walks through some of those items, including Chattanooga Sets Oct. 13 Hearing on Old Lee Highway RN-3 (2026-0113), Chattanooga Council Takes Up Reflection Riding Garden Road Rezoning Oct. 13 (2026-0106), and Chattanooga Council Takes Up 2102 Vance Avenue Rezoning Oct. 13 After Staff Urged Denial. Cromwell Road is the unused address on that list.

How the agendas describe the recommendation

The Oct. 7 Planning, Zoning and Housing Committee agenda and the Oct. 13 Council agenda use the same caption language: rezone 3935 Cromwell Road from RN-1-6 to C-N, District 5, “Recommended for approval by Planning Commission and Staff.” The Chattanoogan’s Oct. 9 agenda roundup reprints the same Cromwell Road first-reading item for Tuesday’s meeting.

No opened staff PDF for this case was required to verify those caption facts; the recommendation line is printed on both city agendas.

What it means for nearby homeowners

If you live on Cromwell Road or the streets that feed it in District 5, a C-N map change can bring a storefront, office, or other neighborhood-commercial use where a house zone sits today. Before you assume traffic or hours, pull the case file from the Regional Planning Commission / City Clerk materials and ask what use is proposed — the ordinance caption alone does not name a tenant.

If you are selling a house nearby, disclose the pending first reading the way you would disclose any other open zoning case: case number, address, from/to zones, and the hearing date. Buyers’ agents will find 2026-0117 on the Oct. 13 agenda whether you mention it or not.

Hamilton County’s separate Oct. 12 planning docket, including the Dallas Lake Road PUD, is covered in Hamilton Planners Set Oct. 12 on 118-Home Dallas Lake Road PUD.

First reading is also when council members can ask for conditions, deferrals, or alternate versions. Other Oct. 13 items on the same agenda arrived with staff versions, applicant versions, and Planning recommendations that do not match. Cromwell Road’s caption, by contrast, shows Planning and Staff aligned on approval with a single version listed.

That alignment does not mean neighbors should skip the meeting. C-N can still change traffic, lighting, and hours on a residential block even when staff supports the map change. Bring the case number, the address, and a short statement of how you use Cromwell Road today — school trips, on-street parking, or a home-based schedule that assumes quiet evenings.

Owners two and three streets away should still watch the vote. A neighborhood-commercial foothold at 3935 can become the comparable staff cites the next time a similar C-N request appears on a nearby corner. The Oct. 13 first reading and the later final reading are the two dates to calendar; everything between is amendment territory.

If you are under contract to buy near Cromwell Road, ask your agent to put the case number in the due-diligence checklist beside flood certificates and survey objections. A pending first reading is not an automatic deal-killer, but it is a fact a title commitment and an appraisal review may flag once Council agendas are public.

District 5 residents who cannot attend Oct. 13 can still email Council and Planning with the case number in the subject line. Short, factual notes — address, how you use the street, and whether you support or oppose C-N — travel better than long petitions without a case ID.

After first reading, watch the clerk’s follow-up agendas for amendments. A condition on hours, buffering, or access can appear between readings even when the zone labels stay the same. Final reading is when those conditions lock.

For sellers already on the market, a one-line disclosure in the agent remarks is enough: “City Council first reading Oct. 13, 2026, case 2026-0117, 3935 Cromwell Road, RN-1-6 to C-N.” Buyers who care will open the agenda; buyers who do not will keep touring.

Key dates

Oct. 7, 2026 — Planning, Zoning and Housing Committee agenda lists 2026-0117 with PC and Staff approval recommendations.
Oct. 9, 2026 — Chattanoogan publishes the upcoming Tuesday Council agenda including Cromwell Road.
Oct. 13, 2026 — City Council first reading on 2026-0117.
Oct. 20, 2026 — Same case appears again on the proposed Council agenda look-ahead in the Oct. 13 packet.

Thinking about selling in Chattanooga or Hamilton County? Start with a free home valuation, or ask for a cash offer if you want a firm number and your own closing date.

What is Chattanooga case 2026-0117?

It is a request to rezone property at 3935 Cromwell Road from RN-1-6 Residential Zone to C-N Neighborhood Commercial Zone, filed by Rardin and Carroll Architects c/o David Decamp A.I.A.

Both the Oct. 7 committee agenda and the Oct. 13 Council agenda state the case is recommended for approval by Planning Commission and Staff.

When does City Council hear 3935 Cromwell Road?

The Oct. 13, 2026, City Council agenda lists 2026-0117 under ordinances on first reading. The same packet’s look-ahead also lists it on the proposed Oct. 20 agenda.